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The following are included as explanatory remarks, not exact definitions, for the reader who may not be familiar with the terms.
ACV: Armoured Command Vehicle.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jkiQigUHp
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGepHhjkXiJ
Ao-dai: The Vietnamese national dress, a close-fitting top and bodice, with long flowing panels from the waist, under which long pants or trousers are worn. Pronounced "ow zhy," by the Northerners and "ow why' by the Southerners.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6u1lXaBcSm
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGJiRONPoC
Arc of fire: Each weapon is positioned to fire over a certain piece of ground, which has left and right boundaries. If this is planted on a map, the area would be represented as an arc of the extremities of the boundaries. There are primary (main) and secondary arcs of fire.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa888PwgeIw
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD1ogZXJtJ
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrEzNig3sv
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Back-up: With reference to meals, coming back for a second serving.
Base-bludging: Bludging in a base or rear area. Anyone who is farther back from the enemy than oneself is a base-bludger. They rarely, if ever, go forward of the wire.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjfh7kENfy
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxuULGCWny
Base-up! Make camp.
Basic Webbing: Generally the minimum harness that a soldier can wear and carry to enable him to perform his basic fighting functions: waist belt, shoulder harness, ammunition pouches, water bottles, bayonet, entrenching tool, and whatever else the unit deems necessary. On this "basic" webbing the thoughtful army can build big and little packs, bedding, radios, and so on.
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BHQ: Battalion Headquarters.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLg2bfX3tw
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Bird: girl/woman965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kyiBwNvpu
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Brass-up: To shoot, be shot at, as in "they brassed up two Charlies," and "they got brassed up by a machine gun."
CHQ: Company Headquarters.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHuAlzzWAH
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCfDSitJys
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDy23dciFD
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CO: Commanding Officer.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrseyOYo8R
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CP: Command Post965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxCoFBNmVA
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CSM: Company Sergeant Major.
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Corps: The British army is composed of various corps e.g. infantry, artillery, transport, dental, etc. Everyone belongs to one of them.
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III Corps Conference: South Vietnam was divided into four Corps Tactical Zones (CTZ): I, II, III, and IV. These were a means of dividing the country into areas of responsibility in which the various units operated, and had nothing to do with the infantry, artillery, etc., kind of corps. The III Corps HQ was almost adjacent to the airbase and the Conference was attended by a British representative.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XCDOa6g9e
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw4pZsGufD
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Dust-off: Radio callsign for a medical evacuation helicopter, the crews of which were renowned and revered for their efforts to lift wounded out of battle and back to the medical facilities despite bad weather and enemy gunfire. Spoken usage included: "We require Dust-off for six," and "Nigel got Dusted-off to Saigon," i.e., Nigel was evacuated to Saigon by helicopter.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoIEUIKG9X
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FAC: Forward Air Controller: a pilot who flies a small (Cessna) aircraft into the battle area to locate, mark, and guide the fighters or bombers onto the targets. A high degree of skill and courage was needed.
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FN: Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian firm of arms makers.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3zgKlXOAO
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Forward of the wire: Outside the barbed-wire perimeter of the unit or base, i.e., out where the enemy may be met. See "basebludger" and "pogo."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwphkHMzeK
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9reJyCuHj
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Hutchi: Japanese (possibly Korean) word for house or shelter, corrupted to mean the soldier's tent in the field. American "hooch" or "hoochi."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKraaup8gVF
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWhANubd2w
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IO: Intelligence Officer.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHs3b6Z94b
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Iron Triangle: A jungle area, roughly shaped like a triangle, about 30 miles west of Saigon, used by the Viet Cong as a base area.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28m4RduFGs
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J: Jungle.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3vKg5p37Y
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KIA: Killed In Action.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenaoLiA4ZU
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppPNRhTgKK
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LO: Liaison Officer965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXopiW2f7my
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Local Force: The Viet Cong National Liberation Front organized their fighting forces on several levels. At the bottom was the village guerilla, then units organized to operate in their home area----but larger than the usual village squad, and given tasks of a more demanding military nature, naturally enough these were called local force units. Above them were regional units and finally the main force.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGhZqo5AsN
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LZ: Landing Zone965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqH4EmPj014
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Main Force: Units of soldiers who have graduated from the village guerillas, local and regional force units, are full-time members of the armed forces, and are now regular troops who can be given military tasks such as those given to regular units of the NATO armies.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJykreWLhg
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5KTx86AfB
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6V8Ttg7na5
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MPC: Military Payment Certificate. "Play money" or "Monopoly money" issued by the military authorities in an attempt to halt the flow of dollars into the black market, etc. It is only good in the military system such as canteens, messes, etc. The type or pattern of MPC would be changed at very short notice, and all unchanged old MPC would then be so much paper. There are said to be people throughout Asia with boxes of old MPC, hoping for the day when the particular pattern is again issued, and they will get rich.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbva9ndnSBn
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MP: Military Police.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfMwJpdtPN
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NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer, i.e., below the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
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NLF: National Liberation Front. No Communist Revolution is complete without this title.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3qMEAnfpj
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NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCI8lxCcAVe
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LKSxsVwcP
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKkoNXwmPg
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Political Officer: The communist forces, being the armed effort of the political organization, are always subject to strict political control, which is achieved by placing a political infrastructure paralleling that of the military command, at all levels from company on up. The political officer has the final word in disagreements between the military and political. Called commissars in earlier times, they are a very important and effective means of ensuring control, motivation, and explanation of policy to the soldiers.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35UU3bPVCr
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Pepper-pot: A tactic for advancing under fire where one or two soldiers at a time leap up, run forward a few paces, go down, roll away, and fire on the enemy while their comrades are doing likewise. The enemy is presented with fleeting targets all across his front, making it very hard for him to take on an accurate shot. Like many other things, it requires practice and teamwork.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jfYUuLBfX
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIr2ORz6nnm
Pogo: See Basebludging. Pogos are the same, but worse. They supposedly spend their time bouncing aimlessly around the rear areas on a pogo-stick and are thus of no use to the fighting troops, i.e., anyone closer to, or likely to be closer to, the enemy.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSVCPYAYTz
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5vdHC16vk
PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXynKwWAE8
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSUSVL4S2Y
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWf4srmbg2P
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Regional Force: Along with a similar organization called the popular force, were part-time troops of the Saigon Regime, used for guard and other light military duties, which could include operations to search for the VC, normally operating in their home locations or areas. Abbreviated in RF/PE so immediately were called "ruffpuffs."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Piv3544vJ
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShd3o7EFWa
RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ScRGvB293
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvULD2BAAWx
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtz52j5eNI
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RV: Rendezvous965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qnV2IB8Vh
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8lUJ4hdVA
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvd8ZYFNIgg
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SLR: Self Loading Rifle; the British-modified Belgian FN, produced at Birmingham, firing the standard NATO 7.62mm round, pronounced "slur."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinxXahnGji
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Smoke: To shoot, kill965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPbVv7fuWR
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Tommy: A British soldier.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafXikIuYCL
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zY9xY3X23
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCk9hRE93JQ
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSDUb7Wwlb
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War Zone D: A term dating from the 1950s war against the French, for a large expanse of jungle about forty miles northeast of Saigon, in which the VC had base camps, training areas, etc., and which was rarely entered by government forces prior to 1965; also called D-Zone or Zone D. Zone C was farther to the southwest, and others were to the north.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsTW7wt59k
965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ97cam8lMW
Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡij6hr86Ikm
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Watch your front!: Do not stare down your shirt buttons and trouser fly, but pay attention to the area of ground before you, your arc of fire.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJVLvfua8R
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1Ge3CzsfY
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSCxuZ7gEv
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